2 tickets strike gold in Powerball jackpot

Thursday

Nov 29, 2012 at 5:40 AM

JIM COLE AND M. SPENCER GREEN

CHICAGO - The richest Powerball jackpot ever - and the second-largest top prize in U.S. lottery history - has been won. The question now becomes: Who are the lucky winners waking up to new lives as multimillionaires?

Powerball officials said early this morning that tickets sold in Arizona and Missouri matched all six numbers to win the record $579.9 million jackpot.

It was not clear whether the winning tickets belonged to individuals or were purchased by groups. Arizona lottery officials said early this morning they had no information on that state's winner or winners but would announce where it was sold during a news conference later in the day. Lottery officials in Missouri did not immediately respond to phone messages and emails seeking comment.

Americans went on a ticket-buying spree in the run-up to Wednesday's drawing, the big money enticing many people who rarely, if ever, play the lottery to purchase a shot at the second-largest payout in U.S. history.

Tickets were selling at a rate of 130,000 a minute nationwide - about six times the volume from a week ago. That pushed the jackpot even higher before the Wednesday night drawing, said Chuck Strutt, executive director of the Multi-State Lottery Association.

A lottery official said late Wednesday that the jackpot increased to $579.9 million by the time of the drawing, making the cash option $379.8 million.

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